Latest Resources
26 January 2023
Zimbabwean smallholder farmers show us the way towards alternative food systems
– by Dr Stephen Greenberg These reflections come from attending a farmer exchange in October 2022, hosted by the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) and Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) Zimbabwe, in collaboration with Towards Sustainable Use of Resources Organisation (TSURO) and Community Technology Development Organisation (CTDO). The 35 participants, including farmers, non-government organisations […]
9 December 2020
Neo-colonial economies and ecologies, smallholder farmers and multiple shocks: The case of cyclon...
We are pleased to share with you the second discussion paper in our “Multiple Shocks in Africa Series”, Neo-colonial economies and ecologies, smallholder farmers and multiple shocks: The case of cyclones Idai and Kenneth in Mozambique and Zimbabwe. (Por favor clique aqui para Português). The paper exposes how the two cyclones that battered Mozambique and […]
8 July 2019
Seed and gene banks play a critical role in conserving and sharing indigenous crop seeds
On a trip to Harare for partnership exploration meetings, the African Centre for Biodiversity visited the Genetic Resources and Biotechnology Institute of Zimbabwe. Gene banks such as these are primarily established to conserve the genetic resources that form the basis for all food production. Seed collections start at the level of community seed banks and […]
28 March 2019
Cyclone Idai’s warning – Shift to agroecological systems that work with nature or suffer more dev...
Ranked as one of the worst tropical storms on record to hit Africa, Cyclone Idai made landfall in Beira on Thursday 15 March, before lacerating its way across central Mozambique and then on towards neighbouring Malawi and Zimbabwe. Heavy rains, flooding and storm damage has resulted in devastation on a vast scale. It is estimated […]
7 December 2018
Mark Lynas slammed for exploiting African farmers’ images to promote GMOs
African farmers are demanding that Lynas cease using their images in his GMO promotionals; Lynas’s mischief-making may have triggered Tanzania’s ending of GMO field trials. Report: Claire Robinson, GMWatch and Mariam Mayet, African Centre for Biodiversity. The British pro-GMO activist Mark Lynas has angered African farmers over his mis-use of their images on the internet […]
12 November 2018
Good Food and Seed Festival, Harare, Zimbabwe
By Edmore Parichi and Busi Mgangxela From the 18-20 October 2018, the Good Food and Seed Festival was held at the Harare Botanical Gardens in Zimbabwe. Edmore Parichi, Busi Mgangxela and Aviwe Biko are small-scale farmers from Eastern Cape in South Africa who took part in this very important event with support from African Centre […]
9 November 2018
Release of risky GM mosquitoes in Burkina Faso highly unethical
Press Release issued by African Centre for Biodiversity, Third World Network and GeneWatch UK Johannesburg, 9 November 2018 Release of risky GM mosquitoes in Burkina Faso highly unethical Risky genetically modified (GM) “male-sterile” mosquitoes are due to be released in the very near future, in Burkina Faso by the Target Malaria research consortium. However, Target […]
10 September 2018
Report from SADC regional farmer speak out on farm input subsidy programmes
Rural Women’s Assembly (RWA) and African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) jointly hosted a meeting of farmers and civil society organisations (CSOs) in August 2018 to share views and experiences on farm input subsidy programmes (FISPs) and public sector support for agroecology in the region. About 140 participants from Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi, […]
26 June 2018
WEMA’S Bt Maize & Fall Armyworm Africa claims are unscientific and unsubstantiated
Press Release from the African Centre for Biodiversity Johannesburg, June 27 A new research paper BT Maize and the Fall Armyworm in Africa: Debunking industry claims published by the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) today, debunks unsubstantiated and unscientific claims made by the biotech machinery, especially the Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) Project, that […]
28 May 2018
Biosafety Indaba eSwatini: Unclear motives following approval to cultivate Bt cotton, despite dis...
The news that the Swaziland Environmental Authority (SEA) had authorised the importation and commercial release of Bt cotton seeds came as a huge shock to the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB). It meant that ACB had to reconsider its earlier acceptance of an invitation by SEA to attend a National Biosafety Indaba on 22 May […]